Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Are TAKS tests comparable to other states' tests?

Any idea if the various states' school assessment tests are comparable? We're homeschooling and I was thinking I'd give DS9 several of the TAKS tests (b/c they're freely accessible). I plan to give him above grade level tests, hoping that if he does well, I can relax about what we're covering and not covering in school. So my question is, do you think I can rely on the results? Our state has recently reworked its assessment tests requiring open written answers rather than multiple choice. No doubt my DS will do better on multiple choice tests like the TAKS - but I was wondering about the level of difficulty of TAKS tests. (btw, our state does not release prior tests, and homeschoolers are not tested.)

Thanks for your insights.

ps - Sorry I posted this in recommended resources first.

If you really want to know how he's doing I wouldn't recommend the TAKs tests. I would go with one of the services for homeschoolers that provides ITBS or something else (maybe California Tests). I wouldn't recommend them for actually getting an understanding of what the kids are learning.